The Transhuman Comedy
Raymund Eich's freelance futurism for fun and profit.About Me
- Name: Raymund
- Location: Houston, Texas, United States
I write science fiction (sf) and fantasy, and I'm a book reviewer for Escape Pod (escapepod.org). I follow the sciences--I have a Ph.D. in biochemistry, but also pay attention to neuroscience and astronomy. When not working or writing, I trade currencies, and with what's left of my free time I read sf/f, history, and economics, play computer and board games, keep fit, occasionally fire up the grill, and love my wife.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Obama's logo
Yesterday afternoon, I waited at a red light behind a car with an Obama bumper sticker, and I was really impressed with Obama's logo.
The capital O in his surname becomes an encompassing circle, which symbolizes both social communion and the integration of the self.
The rising sun symbolizes birth and rebirth; the beginning of a season of growth; the banishment of darkness. Consider how fitting it is that the synoptic gospels state the women found the empty tomb at dawn in the springtime. The encompassing circle also fits with this, as it symbolizes the birth canal, through which new life enters the world.
The plowed field symbolizes nature's bounty (which obviously belongs equally to us all) and reminds us of our debt to those who work to bring that bounty to our tables. It evokes quiet pride in the hearts of small town and rural Americans and strikes a chord of back-to-the-land longing in the hearts of post-hippie environmentalists.
Obama's logo is especially powerful compared to Hillary's. Hers looks like a tired rehash of previous campaign logos, with the words "Kerry '04" or "Carter '76" photoshopped out.
Given its symbolic power, whether or not he wins the Democratic nomination or the general election, I am confident that Obama's logo will be studied by campaign managers for decades to come.
Labels: Election '08, semiotics
Comments:
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yea, the rising sun is also a symbol for communism in the Soviet Union...it is DEFINITELY fitting for obama
# posted by 
: 1:36 PM
: 1:36 PM
Hello Raymund,
In searching for a copy of Obama's logo for a photochop, I stumbled upon your blog article about it. Since I too appreciate it on several levels, I enjoyed reading your description of it. While it is a spare graphic, that is also the source of its elegance. At first glance the colors seem the logical red, white, and blue, but the blue is azure, not flag blue; it carries the clear sky of the "wild blue yonder." That blue, combined with what are essentially three circular bands, reminds me of the three azure blue concentric circles that comprise the material emblem of the Paradise Trinity, as revealed in The Urantia Book.
Curious too that of only a couple comments the aptly-named "Anonymous" felt compelled to contrive an attack against Obama by attributing the post WWII fear of communism to him by conflating communism with the rising sun of the Japanese Empire's flag. Another great logo by the way. I think we're on the verge of finding out just how many bigots and racists are left in America.
You can see Obama's logo as I've applied it at: http://tinyurl.com/6n68zf
Cheers,
Saitia
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In searching for a copy of Obama's logo for a photochop, I stumbled upon your blog article about it. Since I too appreciate it on several levels, I enjoyed reading your description of it. While it is a spare graphic, that is also the source of its elegance. At first glance the colors seem the logical red, white, and blue, but the blue is azure, not flag blue; it carries the clear sky of the "wild blue yonder." That blue, combined with what are essentially three circular bands, reminds me of the three azure blue concentric circles that comprise the material emblem of the Paradise Trinity, as revealed in The Urantia Book.
Curious too that of only a couple comments the aptly-named "Anonymous" felt compelled to contrive an attack against Obama by attributing the post WWII fear of communism to him by conflating communism with the rising sun of the Japanese Empire's flag. Another great logo by the way. I think we're on the verge of finding out just how many bigots and racists are left in America.
You can see Obama's logo as I've applied it at: http://tinyurl.com/6n68zf
Cheers,
Saitia
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